Gone are the days of “Reefer Madness.” Today, even my conservative, southern mother has told me, “If pot ever becomes legal in Virginia, I’m going to start smoking it.” While the federal government still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has “no currently acceptable medical use,” 31 states have made it available for medicinal use. Yet only nine have legalized its recreational use.

Someday, we may even have access to it here in the good ole’ Commonwealth, if the legislature ever gives the people what they want; a poll conducted by Christopher Newport University in February this year found that 76 percent of all Virginians are for decriminalization.

And you can bet if cannabis is ever legalized federally, the big companies will be seeing green dollar signs. Only last week Coca-Cola announced that they are thinking about developing a “cannabis infused beverage.” That’s why it’s great to see small, sustainable companies, who sell pre-rolled doobies (aka joints, aka marijuana cigarettes) in store and online, flourishing. Their products aren’t legal here yet, but the company has partnered with a Richmond-based sustainable packaging company to get one of their products, Dog Walkers — miniature doobies sold in sets of twelve — on shelves.

It’s an interesting idea: Each Dogwalker contains 0.3 to 0.4 grams of marijuana. They are meant to be enjoyed during a casual walk to the museum, after dinner with a friend, or hell, even while walking your dog. At 0.4 grams, a smoke won’t “mess you up, man,” but will provide a nice little pick me up to enhance the moment. To reduce their potency, Dog Walkers are made with a hybrid strain of cannabis with a THC % between 13-17%. As Dog Walkers claims, “Our ingredients are simple and straightforward, giving you less worry – and more Dog Walks!”

Carolyn Kissick, spokesperson for Dog Walkers, said it was important that the company not pollute the planet. Enter the Richmond connection, Julianna Keeling, owner of the sustainable packaging company Terravive. Keeling is working on her Bachelor’s Degree from Washington & Lee University in applied sciences, and is a whiz when it comes to bioplastics and biopolymers. While on a break from school in San Francisco, she met the future founders of Dog Walkers, and in 2013 she moved back to Richmond to start Terravive. Trusting the quality of her work, Dog Walkers weeded out any competition (zing!) and made her an offer to start producing packaging for Dog Walkers.

Reached by phone, Keeling said she founded her company because of “a dearth in the number of companies who are providing products which promote no plastics in our oceans.” She describes the materials she uses as “plant matter-like cellulose and starches [that] can create products which emulate modern plastic products.”

Kissick shared Keeling’s concern for the environment. “Currently, there are a ton of Cannabis products out there with a ton of plastic and it all goes to waste,” she said. “It weighed on us, so we decided to have as minimal an impact as possible.” She said Dog Walkers are supposed to come in an approachable package and be an approachable product: something you could share with a friend.

In the near future, she said Dog Walkers will head “into Oregon and Washington by the end of this year, then Colorado, Massachusetts, and New York. Hopefully states like Virginia will come to the table sooner rather than later.”

Thanks to Dog Walkers, soon, we might have other options than “putting it in our pipes and smoking it.”

Update: Legalize Virginia has been rescheduled to next week, starting Sept. 18.

Last week the Board of Pharmacy Ad Hoc Committee met to determine which companies will be the first to be able to open medical cannabis dispensaries in Virginia.

Yes, they met behind closed doors. And no, the current law is not enough. But that doesn’t change the fact that what is happening right now is a huge, huge step for marijuana in Virginia.

Within the next year, you will be able to bring a form signed by your doctor to a regulated business in the Commonwealth, and there, they will give you an oil derived from a marijuana plant grown on site. It’s just the beginning for those very lucky five business license holders, who you can expect to fiercely try to attract as many patient customers through their doors as possible.

When you picture the folks waiting in line at those dispensaries, I urge you to think of the hundreds of thousands of people in Virginia with genuine illnesses and conditions, who genuinely will find solace and healing from medical marijuana.

Think of my friend Creed Leffler, who has Cerebral Palsy. He calls marijuana the “miracle plant” for the way it helps his muscles relax. “There is no such thing as recreational marijuana,” Leffler said. “It’s all medicinal.”

Creed Leffler

The list of the ailments that can be treated with marijuana is longer than your arm. Check out this chart. Chronic pain, epilepsy, PTSD, ALS, cancer, diabetes — the list goes on and on. The stories are heartbreaking.

Melanie Seifert Davis’s daughter Maddie has been fighting metastatic brain cancer since she was five. “Because of the use of multiple cannabis products, Madison lives a life free of pain, seizures or any limiting deficits, and full of the joys of childhood all children deserve,” said Davis, an ER nurse. “My degree in Biology and my years in the trenches of modern medicine have enabled me to make treatment decisions for my family that rely on evidence-based best practices and emerging research findings, including the multitude of medical benefits that can be derived from marijuana.”

Melanie Seifert Davis’ with her daughter Maddie

I expect marijuana law reform in Virginia to move relatively quickly from here. Expect the businesses granted licenses to be a part of the army of voices banging the drum for even more cannabis law reform in the Commonwealth. The organization I am a part of, Virginia NORML, will be pushing for a decriminalization bill this upcoming General Assembly.

Last Monday, the group held “Marijuana Saved My Life: Cannabis as Medicine in Virginia,” a forum on the new medical cannabis law, who it will help, and how to talk to your doctor about it, with Virginia NORML Executive Director Jenn Michelle Pedini leading the panel. Lisa Bohn, a Purple Heart veteran who uses cannabis to help her cope with PTSD, along with Davis and Leffler, will also speak on the panel. On Tuesday, Sept. 18, the festival will hold the “Equity and Expungement: Talking Marijuana and Race in Virginia” panel, which will look at the disparity in arrest rates among white Virginians and Virginians of color, the expungement of records of those with marijuana offenses, and more. Norfolk NAACP President Joe Dillard, Bill Farrar, director of public policy and communications for ACLU of Virginia, and expungement and restoration of rights attorney Wanda Cooper will serve on the panel. Thursday’s discussion will dive into what cities in Virginia can do about cannabis law reform.

All forums run from 7 to 8 pm at O’Connor Brewing Company and followed by more informal workshops. Tonight, there will be a workshop on growing hops and hemp, on Tuesday will be a workshop on entering the cannabis industry, and on Thursday there will be a workshop on how to be a kick-ass marijuana activist.

Friday, Sept. 21 is the festival atmosphere. O’Connor is releasing a special beer they’re brewing with hemp seeds, called “YES, NORFOLK CAN(yon),” a pale ale modeled after their Norfolk Canyon brew. There will be a ton of pop-ups as part of NOMARAMA’s Munchie Market, a killer list of independent vendors, DJs, a pop-up yoga class, and a retro arcade. The festival runs from 3 pm to midnight.

The fact that O’Connor Brewing Co., a major name in Virginia craft beer, is hosting this series of events is, in-and-of-itself, a testament to the new day for marijuana in Virginia.

This issue is out of the shadows. Soon, we’ll be walking into legal dispensaries in the light of day. And what a beautiful day that will be.

US State (A’s) GOP just updated their platform to include the following: a penalty reduction for possessing less than an ounce of marijuana (these offenses will now be civil, not criminal, charges, payable by a fine of no more than $100), expanded access to medicinal marijuana (giving doctors the ability to determine the appropriate use of cannabis), urging Congress to remove cannabis from the list of Schedule 1 drugs, and a call to pass legislation for the increased cultivation and sale of hemp. That’s a pretty progressive hypothetical state, huh?

Then you have US State (B), which just increased its marijuana-related arrests by more than 20 percent between 2016 and 2017. US State (B) also finds itself in the top six states in the country for marijuana-related arrests, even though eight out of ten state citizens support decriminalization of marijuana.

I lied. This isn’t a hypothetical situation. One of these states is Virginia, and the other one is Texas. Take a guess which state is which.

Bad news it is, Virginia.

The Commonwealth’s state legislature is officially more antiquated than the Texas GOP – top marks. And the cherry on top? Texas Republicans followed the same Virginia model, which allows doctors to determine appropriate cannabis use for their patients, and is now effectively leaving the Commonwealth in the dust.

Virginia NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) Executive Director, Jenn Michelle Pedini, is the Commonwealth’s brain trust regarding all marijuana legislation in the state, from the painfully frustrating to the optimistically hopeful.

Let’s start with the frustrating first. Unlike states such as Colorado and California, which have passed marijuana legislation through voter initiatives, Virginians will have to pass marijuana legislation through the legislature.

“It’s not the governor, it’s not the bill sponsor themselves,” Pedini said. “It really comes down to the Senate Courts of Justice Committee and the House Courts of Justice Committee. And in the House there’s a subcommittee called House Courts of Justice Subcommittee One, which most know as the House Criminal Law Subcommittee. That’s the sticking point. That’s where marijuana reform goes to die.”

Pedini goes on to say that she hopes Republicans would want to get out in front of the decriminalization issue in 2019, but sees the drive to do so isn’t there. Nonetheless, there is a reason to be hopeful as voters look to 2020, which Pedini believes will be the year that sweeping changes and progress are made.

“The general idea is that we can do it in the 2019 session and Republicans could have that win, or we could do it in 2020 legislature, which is going to be a vastly different makeup,” Pedini said. “It’s almost a no-brainer. We’re going to see candidates campaign much more heavily on marijuana policy reform, both at the state and the federal level.”

She feels confident about marijuana reform in 2020, as she predicts there will be a much younger legislature. “Regardless of which party is in control, we’re going to have younger folks in office,” Pedini said. “The reason why we don’t have the reforms that the overwhelming majority of Virginians demand for is simple: Virginians continue to reelect the same conservative prosecutors to represent them in the General Assembly, and those folks are unwilling to move on this issue.”

Pedini discussed the not-so-hypothetical scenario in a very real Virginia, in which law enforcement arrested 27,852 people for marijuana-related offenses in 2017, up by almost 6,000 arrests from the previous year. “While the rest of the country is drastically decreasing their marijuana enforcement either because of decriminalization efforts at municipal or state levels or because of regulating use at the state level, Virginia is moving in the opposite direction,” Pedini said. “And that is not at all in context with what the overwhelming majority of Virginians want.”

Additionally, there are enormous financial benefits can come from state-regulated marijuana sales. Pedini mentioned Pueblo County in Colorado, which is using tax money from marijuana sales to help students pay for college. Pueblo County Commissioner Sal Pace told the local CBS-affiliate station that only a few years ago, “These are dollars that would have been going to the black market, drug cartels. Now money that’s used to fund drug cartels is now being used to fund college scholarships.”

For Pedini, the financial side of regulated marijuana sales is an obvious bonus, but there is a greater concern. “I think more importantly than the tax incentive around regulated marijuana sales is the public safety that comes with regulated sales,” she said. “What we are saying as a state with every year that we don’t regulate the sale of marijuana is that we would prefer drug dealers be the regulators of this industry. We know that drug dealers don’t I.D. before they sell marijuana. We know that in states that have regulated sales of marijuana, they do.”

Virginia seems to have a disorder where no amount of research or facts can break through. “There’s not a lack of data of what happens with states post-regulation,” Pedini said. “We have that in abundance now. It’s more the ability to maintain the current systems that currently profit from maintaining marijuana as illegal. It’s an easy arrest. It’s a way to search people’s cars and homes. Notably, its a way to funnel a significant amount of dollars into the state’s substance abuse program.”

Another inconvenient truth from the 2017 Virginia State Police report? African-Americans in Virginia are arrested for marijuana possession at a rate that is more than three times the rate of whites. Unfortunately, the ACLU has found in their research that this isn’t just a problem in Virginia. Nationally, blacks are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana than whites despite usage being equal between races.

Pedini also discussed the state’s substance abuse program, as it is inexorably linked to the national opioid crisis. She said that in Virginia, “Marijuana possession alone is enough to have you ordered to rehab” if you go through the first-time offenders’ program. “Sadly, you’re going to take up the space in that program for someone who has an opiate or heroin use disorder,” she said. “We could immediately double access to treatment for opiate use disorder by ending the courtroom-to-rehab pipeline for pot possession.”

Pedini said predicting what we will see in Virginia in ten years time is difficult since it depends so much on how federal policy shifts and who controls the state legislature. “A shift in federal policy, regardless of controlling party, is likely enough to push Virginia in the direction of regulating adult use,” she said. “We take a lot of money from the federal government and we’re never going to do anything that inhibits our ability to receive those federal dollars.”

Finally, when asked what we as citizens can do to bring this change more quickly, Pedini bluntly stated, “Vote” before the question was even finished. Is it really that simple? Yes.

“If you keep re-electing people who don’t support the reforms you want, you aren’t going to get the reforms that you want,” Pedini said.

If your priorities line up with the work that Virginia NORML is doing, there’s only one thing to do this November: get out and vote. Find out which candidates support marijuana legislation reform in Virginia and make your voice heard.

Since Initiative 71 called for the decriminalization of recreational marijuana in November 2014, DC is looking more and more like the “District of Cannabis” each and every day. With the ease of gifting up to a zip of “free” bud to anyone under the sun in our nation’s capital, hundreds of new “pop-up” weed vendors are jumping through legal loopholes to turn what used to be a hushed exchange amongst friends into an emerging “legitimate” yet completely unregulated market.

Being a Northern Virginia native with a curiosity to witness these ganjapreneurs firsthand, I made the trip up to the “District of Cannabis” with high hopes of documenting this phenomenon. I was on a mission to understand exactly how these “businesses” operated within the gray area of the law and to explore all of the new ways in which weed culture is pushing the frontier of entrepreneurial discovery in Washington, DC.

From a dab bar to talking with delivery drivers, and taste testing all the different weed-infused concoctions in between, I can personally say for all you Richmonauts still chiefing b-grade mulch in your basements, the grass is definitely greener on the other side.

I started off my day at the PinkFox headquarters where I met with co-founder Mark Nagib, to talk about their role in the cannabis support movement over a bowl or two, or three. “Both my business partner Kelly and I were laid off on the same day in 2015, we both poured our severance into this and after I started getting into art, we were lucky enough to see this lifestyle brand grow faster than we could have ever expected,” he said.

Obviously, the pair does not sell cannabis, which they could not stress enough on their website, but they do “gift” it along with the purchase of merchandise whether it be a t-shirt, hat, backpack, or posters with their pink fox logo on it.

“We all tell ourselves that the cat is out of the bag, but not everyone is prepared to wear clothing that represents blatant marijuana support, so creating a lifestyle brand for those who are ready for the substance but want some discretion to go along with it was a no-brainer for us. That’s why we started the brand, people being denied something they’ve wanted, and now being given access to it,” said Mark.

But it’s their baked goods that really have the people clamoring. Kelly is the master chef behind it all. Pink Fox specialize in edibles, such as their famous gorgonzola and pancetta “Cheese-itz”, but have recently expanded their menu to incorporate pop tarts, salted caramel brownie bites, “cannabutter”, watermelon candies, and peppermint butter and chocolate chip cookies.

Because DC is not a state, and approximately 30 percent federal property, it doesn’t have the same rights as far as the autonomy of its budgeting goes. Legislation opposed having money come in from the taxation of a federally banned substance, ultimately leaving the District where it is today with Initiate 71.

There aren’t any recreational dispensaries, and unlike states like Colorado, you can’t just walk into a store and buy a joint. “Up until recently there were four medical dispensaries in DC, one in each quadrant, and you could only commit to one which means if they are out, you are screwed,” said Mark.

Pink Fox set up a booth at the National Cannabis Festival and Tee Con, but those looking to buy some merchandise have to make an appointment. With a giant flat screen tv displaying more game consoles than I could count, an entire kitchen full of edibles, and an armory of bongs ranging in all shapes and sizes, its a stoner’s dream unto itself, but clients are not allowed into Pink Fox HQ, and rather have to arrange to meet in a public place to get their goods.

The prices are suggested donations in exchange for the swag. The person buying sets the donation price for a t-shirt or poster, sticker, et cetera, which is given with the edible of their choosing. And while I could munch on their gorgonzola “Cheeze Its” all day, I knew I would be stuck there if I didn’t split, so I said my goodbyes and went on with my cannabis cruise to discover what a true pop-up vendor event was really like.

With a bottle of Rohtos in my pocket and expectations high as a kite, I was headed to my first ever event “Tasty Tuesdays”, held at DC’s Listen Vision Recording Studios. I was on the hunt for the infamous 200 mg-infused cheese pizza slice I had been hearing about and wouldn’t stop until my palate was satisfied. I followed the all too familiar aroma until I rolled up to the studio porch to see a DJ blasting the latest rap hits into the street. Inside, I was met with a semi-crowded room, more so due to the size of the room than the number of people there, and about five or six vendors working at the time.

Upon entrance, I was handed a dab pen of distillate to test out. I had no idea where to begin, or how to act exactly, so I did what anybody else would do, and followed the free samples.

I ended up making friends with a vendor who had been selling edibles as a representative for Mrs. Dankness for about a month. The group had won the 2017 DC Growers Cup for Best Concentrate, and told her it was my first event in which she replied, ‘I can tell’ and proceeded to give me a beginners lesson on my DC “weedtiquette.”

Mrs. Dankness

It seems most people are using the “donation” loophole as a way to still make a pretty penny off their home-cooked edibles and pre-rolls. Pretty much what I got out of it was, “Do not ask how much, and make sure you pick up a sticker or business card before you leave.” Other than that, it seemed pretty straightforward.

Mrs. Dankness had been averaging about two events a week and had everything from nugs and cookies to lollipops and gummies. I went with a 150mg mega gumdrop and a couple cookies that I had planned to secretly leave for my parents when I went back to school. Peanut butter for my dad, and chocolate for my mom, in exchange for what I remember being a $20 donation, but then again, I could barely remember my name halfway into the event.

I slothed my way over to Not Ur Granny’s Adults Treats, who specializes in gourmet edibles for adults. Run by owner Bae Baker, N.U.G.S., (get it?), is surprisingly located in Baltimore, Maryland which I thought was interesting. They had a beautiful array of different elegant personal sized chocolate and vanilla cakes, infused with over 250mg of THC. What really caught my eye were the rice crispy treats, made with either Cap’n Crunch or Cinnamon Toast Crunch mixed with marshmallows and cut into squares, each averaging about 80-90 mg of THC which I, of course, had to have to start my collection of souvenirs.

Not Your Granny’s Snacks

I’m not into all the hocus-pocus of different strains and percentages of Indica and Sativa. If it does the job and is cheap, I’m game, so I couldn’t fully appreciate the fact that I was puffing on a GG#44 and Sunset Sherbert Hybrid pre-roll that I snagged off this guy for $10 from the next table.

It was interesting to me how some of the vendors are very strict with the rules, bringing only an ounce or two of flour, ensuring that it is gifted in return for a monetary donation, and others who aren’t, simply waving joints in your face asking for $10.

I was somewhat skeptical after seeing the THC percentage for each edible was a range, to calculate for some sort of measurement error or something. I guess because it’s all still unregulated, you can still get gipped and sold mids without repercussion, the only thing now is that you have the reputation of a brand to upkeep. It’s all about customer loyalty in this industry because it’s almost too easy to get it from somewhere else at this point. Picture a really crappy restaurant barely running off the service of tourists, if you don’t have people ever coming back to eat at your restaurant again, it is going to be a lot harder to remain afloat.

Pink Fox

I was most definitely one of the tourists, already burning through more than half of my budget before lunch, and we hadn’t even gone to the next event yet. Next up on the itinerary was Twisted Up Tuesdays, hosted by Out The Park Concessions DC, who I found on Instagram. That is usually how you find out about events around here other than simply typing in “Marijuana events in DC”. For this event specifically, I had to order a free ticket off Eventbrite that came with a corresponding email to contact for the address, I guess better safe than sorry.

My photographer and I arrived at a townhouse on the corner of a typical suburban neighborhood, slightly confused if we were in the right place. The moment the front door opened, the smell reassured us. I was greeted by a hefty bouncer in a wife-beater, who most definitely owned a motorcycle and ate nails for breakfast.

He patted us down, unfortunately, saw the cameras, and told us to leave our equipment in the car. After returning, we headed on upstairs, realizing we had come just in time for whatever “Flower Power Hour” was. Now this place was the real deal, ran out of someone’s home rather than a rented out venue or office, an open two-level townhouse with giant ceilings and a couple dozen vendors definitely gave more of an inviting feeling than the recording studio. The lights were turned off for the most part, but each vendor had a lamp overlooking their table, adding to the trippy atmosphere.

The High Definition Society table displayed their G3 Xtracts concentrate bar, and for $5 stickers, each coming with a dab of your choice, they were being ripped through like shots at happy hour.

I was then introduced to the Edi Bros., who specialize in THC-infused condiments. They offer them both infused and uninfused, for a donation of course. With a collection of over eight different sauces, they really pride themselves on their best-selling Buffahigh and Mumba-Que sauce. For those of you that aren’t familiar with Mumbo sauce, it is a famous DC delicacy found in many takeout restaurants, similar to that of a sweet barbecue I would say, but I’m no local.

A big bottle will yield you about 350 mg of THC, and the little guys have around 200. I tried some with chips as we talked about their journey to where they are today. The two founders are from Buffalo, New York and Washington DC. Requesting to stay anonymous, they credit marijuana for saving their lives and want to spread the good word of the benefits they have experienced, one admitting that weed had got him off anxiety medication and helped him with depression and ultimately losing 100 pounds.

Edibros

Everything about their patent-pending sauces is done in-house, nothing is shipped in. They say the key is a properly decarboxylated oven. They only started going to events about five months ago, but said their Instagram is growing daily.

“We are not high end, we are not niche, we aim to be renaissance men within the cannabis community,” they said.

Edi Bros. also has your typical infused baked goods, as well as candy that you can pick up for any sort of donation. They say that their oil gel pills have been increasingly popular with older people in the workforce that see smoking as an inconvenience.

I didn’t end up buying any sauce, I was more fascinated by the strawberry kiwi moon rocks and infused watermelon sour patch candies at the next table. I had about $30 left in my budget and needed to leave with some good old, normal, regular, weed.

I struck up a conversation with CMEkushkings, a Richmond native. As we got to talking, he said he lived in Short Pump and was working at CoStar making $60,000 a year. He moved up to DC just a couple months ago to take advantage of the green rush and said he is already projected to make more than that next year. He graciously gifted me a free eighth of Gelato in exchange for purchasing one of the stickers he had laid out on the table for my $30.

I had burned all of the cash in my pockets, and half of the cells in my brain, but I successfully completed my cannabis cruise with a full bag of goodies and a smile that would be involuntarily stuck on my face for the next hour or so. Now I would have had better pictures for you guys, but I sort of ate most of the product before coming back to work. But regardless, we learned that because this business is unregulated, you may now know exactly what you are getting, but not exactly how much you are getting in terms of dosage.

Pink Fox

We learned that there is definitely a number of legal loopholes these vendors are jumping through “under the radar” to survive, and we know that the recreational marijuana scene in Washington DC is on the rise, almost completely eliminating the need for a medical license, and pushing the frontiers of weed culture in the nation.

And if you want to know whether or not it was worth it all, let’s just say this article alone has taken me the longest out of any thus far, the inside of my mouth is drier than the Sahara, and I have become a part of the very couch I took refuge on after finishing what is left of my goodie bag of souvenirs.

US Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have cosponsored a bill that would legalize hemp and define it as an agricultural commodity.

The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 would effectively remove the plant from the list of controlled substances because hemp would no longer be grouped with marijuana. Which, despite it having so little tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in it, thus no narcotic capability, it was defined as marijuana in the Controlled Substance Act back in 1970 when President Richard Nixon was in office.

Because of its current legal definition, right now hemp is harvested for research purposes in the state of Virginia, but cannot be grown for commercial use. More than an estimated 25,000 products use the plant from textiles to furniture to construction materials, personal care items and more.

The 2014 Farm Bill allowed industrial hemp to be used for agricultural research purposes. Since its enactment, Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the University of Virginia, and James Madison University have been active in hemp research.

This new bill, however, is pulling support from both sides of the aisle.

In a Wednesday press release, Warner said the nation’s agricultural industry shouldn’t be held back by outdated restrictions, which by default prevent the creation of more jobs and hurt the economy.

“Hemp products are already bought, sold, and consumed right here in the United States,” Warner said. “This bipartisan bill will help Virginia farmers, manufacturers and small businesses benefit from the economic growth we have seen in this industry.”

In the same press release, Kaine said he is always looking for ways to support Virginia’s agricultural economy since it’s the state’s leading economic sector.

“Hemp was grown in Virginia by Thomas Jefferson, and research and input from Virginia agricultural stakeholders, agricultural scientists at JMU and Virginia Tech, and economic development leaders like the Tobacco Commission have shown that it is safe and holds economic promise for rural Virginia,” Kaine said. “I’m satisfied that this bill takes sensible steps to address law enforcement concerns and, in turn, that it makes sense to remove industrial hemp from the federal controlled substance list.”

The Hemp Farming Act will also give states the opportunity to be the primary regulators of hemp, make hemp farmers eligible to apply for crop insurance, and allow hemp researchers to apply for more federal grants.

The bill addresses law enforcement concerns regarding the similarity between hemp and marijuana by requiring states to submit hemp growth and production plans for USDA approval.

Warner has been serving on the Senate since 2008 and will keep his seat until 2021. Kaine on the other hand has served on the Senate since 2013 after his reign as governor. He just announced his bid for reelection early last month.

It’s crazy to think that just 200 yards can be the difference between getting locked up and being fined for enjoying a fatty with friends while overlooking the Potomac. With criminal marijuana laws going up in smoke back in February 2015 due to Initiative 71 – which legalized marijuana for those over 21 – there has been tremendous attention centered around the various distribution loopholes and how that impacts everyone along the DC and Virginia border.

Let’s get one thing straight though, Washington DC is not the wild west of weed. While it has been decriminalized, a person still can’t smoke on public property or sell openly. Nonetheless, some of the district’s more aspirational potheads have started to get pretty creative on circumventing the laws; discovering those loopholes to turn what was once an illegal practice into a legitimate business.

Initiative 71 Campaign Poster

For this 4/20, RVA Mag sat down with some people about their experiences with weed in Northern Virginia (NOVA) since the law in DC has been passed – given their proximity to one another.

Unsurprisingly, they requested to remain anonymous, so we will just call them Cannabis Carl and Stanley the Stoner.

“There is no doubt the vibe around smoking weed is different outside of the border since its decriminalization in DC,” said Carl, discussing the proximity issue. He went on to say that nobody in the weed game is still 100 percent comfortable with the ambiguities “Now that the laws are more accepting of weed in DC, cops digression has noticeably shifted to be more lenient in response.”

Yet there are differing perceptions in NOVA. Stanley spoke to RVA Mag about police stalking hot-boxed cars with Virginia license plates right outside of the District’s boundaries – just waiting to pounce. This speaks to containment and a desire to prevent any kind of cross-border ‘weed-culture bleed’ into the surrounding counties.

“Because it is Washington DC, feds are going to be super narky regardless of what the situation is. Weed is still illegal federally obviously, so you will see the saddest of cops itching to bust someone making a wrong turn and ending up in a federal zone with some weed on them,” said Stanley. “It is most definitely not the same as when other more liberal states had originally decriminalized the drug,”

Carl and Stanley both agreed that the cultural experience of smoking has definitely shifted since Initiative 71. “The thing to do back in the day was to sneak around to our favorite secret outdoor spots, said Carl, adding that the Georgetown bridge was his favorite spot given its “sketch factor.” He went on to say that everyone in NOVA now goes into DC to check out the new vendors, which are essentially “pop up shops where home growers showcase their product similar to a farmers market.”

Even as DC has progressed into the 21st Century, it is still important to remember that marijuana laws in Virginia are exactly the same. This means everyone repping the DMV will still not be saved from the DEA. According to Jenn Michelle Pedini, executive director of Virginia NORML, “Washington, DC’s Initiative 71 has had no impact on criminal justice reform regarding marijuana policy.” (Check)

When a bill gets introduced, it must be approved by a committee and sometimes even a subcommittee before making it to the full Senate or House for a floor vote. Senior committee members perceive their legislative districts and the District of Columbia quite differently and are not swayed by the District’s loosened marijuana laws. According to Pedini, it is not the legislature as a whole that prevents marijuana policy reform, rather it is due primarily to the majority of committee members who are former or current prosecutors.

Lack of knowledge and the surrounding social stigmas regarding the plant essentially leaves these officials to act as gatekeepers, preventing these marijuana bills from advancing to a full floor vote.

But keep your hopes high as a kite because Pedini predicts that if and when these bills finally reach the Senate and House floors, they are more than likely to pass in our favor.

Nonetheless, RVA Mag talked to a couple dealers from the NOVA area, who once again preferred to remain anonymous, to dig a little deeper into what sort of backlash Initiative 71 has created for the underground weed distribution industry – both inside and outside of District lines.

“Most of the people I serve are still in high school,” said one of the dealers. He went on to say that Initiative 71 doesn’t impact their business because the kids aren’t of age, but they “have such big networks that weed is almost as accessible as water for them.” This means that a lot of people in NOVA would rather stick with the weed they know as opposed to travelling to DC to pay for a more expensive product.

“I did notice a decrease in the older people I used to serve, like businessmen and parents, as well as the guys that pick up weight more frequently and really harp on consistent quality,” said the dealer. “Which makes sense to me because the inflated DC prices are worth a more convenient and legal transaction given their careers and families.”

Proximity doesn’t end in NOVA though, Richmond dealers are also making the trek to the nation’s capital to explore new products and take advantage of the loopholes. After sitting down with a local dealer, “Patrick the Pusher,” over some “coffee”, he described his entire process – from the acquisition of the product – to the curation and transportation across the border, right up until it reaches the hands of the customer.

“It’s much easier to get my shit in Richmond, but when I do make DC runs, I use wheresweed.com,” Patrick said. This app allows a user to see a list of all the specialized vendors in DC, along with a menu of their product.

“Each vendor is a little different, but after you make your selection and put in a delivery address, it usually takes around two hours for them to respond and deliver, which is just enough time for me to make my way up there,” he added.

The Wheres Weed App

The weed game is also a business, something not lost on Patric, “Like any business review on Yelp, their response time, efficiency, and professionalism is a direct reference to the quality of their product and made me feel like it was less quality.”

In the end, it is the loopholes that many people exploit in order to get their stuff.

For starters, the District does not permit the distribution of marijuana in exchange for monetary compensation, but there is nothing stating that you can’t just give it away. Most vendors sell a sticker or t-shirt that comes with a complimentary nug as a “free” gift depending on the value of whatever you buy.

Even for something like wheresweed.com, it is only available for people living in DC, but there is nothing stopping an outsider from putting a public parking lot or intersection as their home address.

“I feel a sense of pride buying local,” said Patrick. “It almost reminds me of grocery shopping online, it’s really that easy. I have never used the same service twice, but that’s not to protect me, I hadn’t even considered getting in trouble, it is more just to explore my options.”

Although vendor prices are slightly inflated compared to street prices, it is definitely more consistent. While you can still get great quality weed on the street outside of DC, there are no certainties that it is going to be good every time. That being said, you can’t get more than one ounce at a time, which makes it harder for people looking to resale in Virginia.

Initiative 71 seems like a win-win for everyone, fewer people are getting incarcerated, the economy is growing, and people are happier and higher than ever. This happening in the Nation’s capital also has a certain kind of poetic justice to it. Times are definitely changing.

Although the weed game is still highly unregulated, Virginians are still finding their way around the law. It is to early to tell if this newly adopted democratic “weetiquette” will immerse itself into the Commonwealth or trigger a greater containment effort by law enforcement. But until then, happy 4/20 everyone, and be sure to fix yourself a nice bowl of Weedies and milk before bed.